h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I buy underwear at WalMart. Tried the jeans @$12.00 and discovered that the size tags seem to have been applied at random.

now thats an Ideal new gameshow...........

size tags - you believe in the Easter Bunny as well?

That's another thing about imported clothes. The sizing is sure hit and miss.

I was just reading in the paper today that people are purchasing their children's school supplies on layaway. Use to be that folks didn't start using layaway until they were Christmas shopping. Also, stores that had discontinued layaway due to lack of interest are now offering it again. This is due, apparently, to the reining in of credit.

Something that gives me hope, inasmuch as to sanity within the homo sapiens - parents over here try to reintroduce school uniforms. Not fancy blazer stuff, just teeshirt and jeans, bought in bulk - gets them out of that "brand awareness" financial death spiral. And the children love the idea.

Oh, and my stimulus payment was deposited today.

Let me guess - 5% of what they took off you, wrapped as a present, and it will pay your new yacht?

There's great loads of stimulus funds going into industries and such, but not many have seen it yet. Certainly nothing is going to the individual tax-payers here. Last time there was a sort of rebate, they messed up and it went to EVERYone, including support system recipients, penitentiary residents, and a few hundred that were already inhabiting their "eternal resting place".

Support system recipients, given money to afford what they couldn´t ever, oterwise. Teeth repaired, ways to get back amongst the working populace, whatsoever - instead of that, bureaucrats splurge money in firehose mode. Makes you want to (I won´t say, it would get yikesed)

It was, in theory, a rebate for over-taxation of earned income. Hence the perplexity of a lot of folks receiving rebates ... Specifically people who paid no income taxes.

In the US, there is something called an Earned Income Credit designed for low-income families with dependent children. This gives them tax refunds even when they don't pay any income tax. It's actually a good thing, imho. But giving rebate checks to prisoners is just ridiculous.

EIC is a wonderful thing when you're a single mother grad student (says one).

Good on you, Montana Redhead. I went to University when I was 44 - twice divorced and with my children all grown up. It was hard, but it has given me a love of learning which I hope I shall never lose.

So I am most impressed that you get help to achieve this.

Go well

Christiane.
AR80

Well, look who is making the news by getting sued for “unfair and deceptive business and collection practices.” It's my one time prospective employer. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32571780/ns/business-consumer_news

If the charges in that article are true, they need sued. And made to pay back the people they've robbed and intimidated. They sound as bad as loan sharks.

I'm troubled by what they are legally allowed to do.

Look at the way the credit card companies have been allowed to operate. With luck things are improving on that front.

Not exactly. The credit card reform goes into effect next month but leading up to this point credit card companies have gone on a spree raising fees and rates while they can. And they'll still be able to raise their rates as long as they tell you ahead of time. What really gets me now is how banks are treating debit and ATM card users. Remember the message, "transaction canceled due to insufficient funds"?
That no longer happens. Banks now prefer for their customers to unwittingly overdraft their accounts so they can charge $30 overdraft charges. And it's legal.